Associated Press
NASHVILLE – Shea Weber and Cal O'Reilly each scored a power-play goal, Pekka Rinne made 33 saves for his third shutout of the season, and the Nashville Predators beat the Coyotes, 3-0, on Tuesday night at Bridgestone Arena.
Jordin Tootoo also scored an empty-net goal for the Predators, who snapped a four-game losing streak.
After a seven-game winning streak, the Coyotes (11-7-5) have lost two straight in regulation for the first time this season.
Weber scored the game's first goal at 3:26 of the first period. The Nashville captain had the puck in the right circle when his attempted pass into the low slot caromed back to him, and he sent a wrist shot into an open net.
O'Reilly doubled the lead at 12:48 of the second period. The goal was O'Reilly's fifth of the season (see
KEY MOMENT below).
After struggling on the man advantage for most of the season, the Predators (10-8-5) now have two power-play goals in two of their last three games.
Rinne was sharp, turning aside 10 shots in the first period, 13 in the second and 10 in the third for his 17th career shutout.
Coyotes goalie
Ilya Bryzgalov faced just 22 shots. The defeat was the Russian's first road regulation loss of the season. He is 5-1-2 away from Glendale.
Tootoo's empty-net goal in the final minute completed the scoring.
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EDITOR'S NOTE: Dave Vest of phoenixcoyotes.com contributed to this recap.
With the Predators leading 1-0 and attacking on a five-on-three power play, Nashville forward Steve Sullivan sent a pass from the left of the Phoenix goal across the crease to teammate Cal O'Reilly, who scored easily with 7:12 left in the second period.
"We just went through our options," O'Reilly said. "Sullivan did all the work, and I had an empty net there."
The two-man advantage was created when the Coyotes took three consecutive penalties in the middle of the period. The Predators first had a five-on-three for nine seconds, followed by another five-on-three for 50 seconds. O'Reilly's goal came with three seconds left on the second two-man advantage.
• Center
Kyle Turris returned to the lineup after missing three games because of an upper-body injury. Turris played 11:46, took four shots on goal and won 7 of 11 faceoffs.
• The Coyotes finished November with a record of 8-2-2 for 18 points. The last time the Coyotes had 18 or more points in November was in 1998 when they went 10-0-1 for 21 points.
• The Coyotes dropped to 4-1-2 vs. teams in the Central Division.
• The Coyotes scratched
Paul Bissonnette and
Sami Lepisto. Both players are healthy.
• Phoenix's next game is on Wednesday vs. the Minnesota Wild at the Xcel Energy Center. The puck drops at 6 p.m. (Arizona time). The game can be seen on Fox Sports Arizona and can be heard on XTRA Sports 910 (AM).